Lap robe



Dec. 31, 1957 w. P. SULLIVAN LAP ROBE Filed June 29, 1955 F762 H53 H642,817,843 Patented Dec. 2?1,v 14957 F. Armstrong, and A.. G.,Armstrong,` partners under firm name of Polarobe Company, Green Bay,Wis.

Application'June, 1955LSerialNo. 518,908 solaires: tot; 2 69) Thisinventionrelates generally" to lap robes, and lmore particularly t'olimprovements in lap ro'besv of the wrap aroundttype.

The purpose of this'invention is to provide -a lapvrobe that is heldrestricted, `by the springclamp, to a minimum, thereby facilitating themanipulation thereof; and frther, to" design a robe that is providedwith cooperating and coacting cushion and guard" coversl on therespective wingportions'thereof:

An oliject of this invention i`s the` provision of a body clampingarrangement for a lap robe whereby the side wing portions of the robemay be facilely wrapped around a wearer withoutlrestriction by theclamping means.

Another Objectis t`opr`ovi`d`e.a.bodyv clamping arrange ment for a laprobe whereby the robemay be alternatively spread out to accommodatepersons seated on either side` of the clamp wearer.

Yet `another object is to provideabody clamping arrangement for a laprobe` whereby` the clamp may be alternatively pivoted 180 from itsnormal position, about its vmountinghem, thereby to reverse the1 `robeand enable the clamp to clasp the robe around its entirety, whendesired.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of a bodyclamping arrangement for a lap robe whereby the robe may be convenientlyfolded without interference by the clamping means.

A further object of this invention is to provide a lap robe with awaterproof seat portion.

Still a further object is to provide a lap robe with an insulated seatportion.

Yet a further object is to provide a lap robe with an insulated seatportion on one of the wings and a cooperative cover guard on the otherwrap around wing.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which like referencenumerals designate like parts throughout the gures thereof and wherein:

Fig. 1 illustrates a perspective view, of a preferred embodiment of theinvention;

Fig. 2 shows a section of the garment taken on line 2 2 of Fig. l,showing the spring clamp in the short hem receiving portion;

Fig. 3 shows a section of the garment taken on line 3--3 of Fig. l,showing the seat element portion on one of the wings; and

Fig. 4 shows a section of the garment taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1,showing the cover guard portion on the other of the wings.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference charactersdesignate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,there is shown in Fig. l a lap robe garment generally indicated atcomprising a central body portion 11 and extended side wing portions 12and United States Patent Otlice 13. Whileither robe may be made of anysuitable material itlis preferably made' of woolen textile fabric.

'Elie` upper margin ofthe robe is doubled back and sewedto form a hem14, the'doubled back portion being slotted at 15 andll. Said slots arespaced to define the narrow centralportion 11 of the robe, the spacingbeing less thanthe width ofawearers waist.

A- circular split spring waist clamp 17 is threaded through said slots,and-is loosely disposed in that part of the hem betweenthe slots. Saidcircular spring clamp is of a length sufficient, when tensioned, toapproximately encirclefth'ev waist of i a wearer, and` is made ofresilient material such as steel, plastic or thelike.

Normally, the untensioned' relaxed spring assumes a conguration having acircumference less than the body of the wearer; butwhen itis expanded soas to encircle the waist of the wearer,it becomes tensioned suliicientlyto embrace the waist with a force adequate to support the robe pendingtherefrom.

The robe is `generally rectangular in plan and normally usedlwith itslong axis disposed horizontally, Measured along its long axis, the robeis ot' a width to cover the front of the wearer and to extend to bewrapped around and lapped at the back of the wearers body. The fold orlap at the back of the body should be ample to anchor the robe inposition by the weight of the body seated uponthe lapped portions of therobe.

Measured along its Vvertical axis, the robe is of a length toextendapproximately from the waist to the ankles of the wearer.

The frontal side of the wing 13 is provided with a seat elementZll; madefrom cushioning material or insulation material; or the like, securedthereto asby stitching. Such materials could consist of pillow llings ofall types, soft rubber, foam rubber, and insulation mats, or the like.Said-seat element is locatedon the wing so that when the wingis wrappedaround the body of the wearer, the seat element becomes disposed underthe wearer so as to function as a seat for the wearer.

The frontal side of the remaining wing 12 is provided with a cover guard18. The cover guard is made from wear resistant material such as leatheror the like, or water resistant material such as rubber or plastic, orthe like. The wear resistant material provides a good wearing surfacefor resisting the abrasive action of concrete seats such as found infootball stadia. The water resistant material protects the overlyingseat element and the wearer thereon from the dampness and wetness ofwater soaked wooden bleachers. Said cover guard is secured to the wing12 as by stitching, and is located on said wing so that when said wingl2 is wrapped around the .body of the wearer the guard cover 1S becomesdisposed over the seat element 20. The guard cover i8 functions toprotect the seat element 20 when the robe is Wrapped around the body ofthe wearer, in overlapping relation. The seat element 2th and guardcover 13 are assembled in such a manner that, when brought together in aclose relation, they cooperate to produce a single result.

The short length of hem ld, defined by the slots l5 and 16, forreceiving a small section of the spring clamp 17, provides aconstruction and arrangement for sharing the robe with and serving otherpersons, seated on either side of the robe wearer, with conventionalrobe comfort and protection. ln this instance the robe wearer does notwrap the robe wings around himself, but in lieu thereof merely extendsthe wings sidewise to cover the laps of those persons seated on eitherside of him. The short unrestricting lient mounting provides this newfeature.

Also, the short length of the hem ld, defined by the slots l5' and 16,for loosely receiving a small section of the spring clamp 17, provides aconstruction and arrangement asie/,sas

.E for reversing the robe, should that be desired. The spring clamp needonly be pivoted or transited 180 over the top end of the robe to achievesuch reversal. The short contained clamp section, and loose mounting inthe hem, allows the spring clamp to be freely transited. This reversedarrangement results in the spring clamp being disposed exteriorly of therobe, except for the receiving hem, from whence it can be brought tobear on and embrace the robe against the body around its entirety.

The characteristic features of this invention are the short heinmounting arrangement; the provision of an insulated seat element on therobe; the provision of a seat cushion and cooperating guard cover on therespec tive robe wing portions; and an easily reversible lap robeconstruction.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings. it is therefore to beunderstood, that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed and desired to be protected by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

l. A lap robe, comprising: a central body portion of soft ioldablematerial having side wing portions, each side wing portion being of awidth. adapted to overlap at the rear when worn by a single wearer, andto selectively accommodate and normally `cover a person seated on eachside of a centrally disposed robe wearer, when shared, said robe havinga length adapted to extend substantially from the waist to the anklesor? a wearer; a hem along the upper margin of said central body portion,said hem having spaced receiving openings in the central body portion oneach side ot the centerline thereof; and a substantially circular springclamp for tensionally embracing the Waist of a wearer thr 'ided throughsaid hem through said hem receiving openings, only the iront arcuateportion of the spring clamp being received and disposed in said heinbetween said receiving onenings, said bern and openings being largerthan the spring clamp in cross section to allow said clamp to `e freelypivoted in said. hem for reversing the robe, said clamp adapted toextend substantially around a wearers waist when worn by a wearer tosupport the robe thereon.

2. The lap robe of claim 1 and a separate seat cushion on one of saidwings disposed to function as a seat for a single wearer when said wingis normally worn around the body of a wearer; and a separate guard coverof wear resistant material for said cushion and of substantially thesize on the other of said wings correspondingly disposed thereon tooverlie said seat cushion when said other wing is worn overlappedrelative to said seat cushion wing.

A lap robe, comprising: a central bodyvportion having side wingportions, adapted to be worn around the body of a wearer and of alength' to extend substantially from the waist to the ankles of awearer, said wings being of a Width adapted to overlap each other toprovide a double thickness of material substantially across the rearside of the wearer; spring clamp mounting means on the upper margin ofsaid central body portion; a substantially circular spring clamp fortensionally embracing the waist of said wearer engaged with saidmounting means; a separate seat cushion on one of said wings disposed onits overlappable portion to function as a seat for a wearer when saidwing is worn around the body; and a separate guard cover of wearresistant material for said cushion and of substantially the same sizeon the other of said wings dis posed on the overlappable portion thereofand correspondngly disposed thereon to overlie and cover said seatcushion when saidwings are in overlapped relation on the wearer.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 353,939Hawley Dec. 7, 1886 461,128 Lang et al Oct. 13, 1891 770,458 FOX Sept.20, 1904 2,105,787 Herpich Jan. 18, 1938 2,146,400 Maker et al. Feb. 7,1939 2,230,689 Kemp Feb. 4, 1941 2,675,551 Servaas Apr. 20, 1954

